Specific features of structural, magnetic, Raman and Mössbauer: Properties of La 0.57 Nd 0.10 Sr 0.18 Ag 0.15 FeO 3 ferrite nanoparticules

Abstract

This article reports on a detailed study of the structural, spectroscopic and magnetic properties of La 0.57 Nd 0.10 Sr 0.18 Ag 0.15 FeO 3 (LNSAFO) ferrite nanoparticles, which were prepared using the solid state tech- nique. The Rietveld analysis of the powder X-ray diffractograms indicated that the material crystalizes in an orthorhombic structure, Pnma space group. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) measurements showed that all particles have almost spherical shapes, and are characterized by a distribution of rela- tively narrow particle sizes. The average diameter of the particles was estimated within the 25–45 nm range by three different methods (SEM, and from the XRD data using the Debye-Scherer and Williamson–Hall models).The elemental composition of the synthesized material has been investigated by energy dis- persive spectroscopy (EDS), which confirmed the presence of all expected elements in stoichiometries matching those of the precursor oxides of the synthesized perovskite. Raman spectroscopy measure- ments revealed that the studied sample had a considerable degree of crystallinity, in agreement with the X-ray diffraction data. Finally, the magnetic properties of the studied compound have been investi- gated by studying the variation of the magnetization as a function of temperature in both the ZFC (zero field cooled) and FC (field cooled) modes. A blocking temperature ( T B ) of around 100 K was observed.